Chapter 74: Chapter 69: I’m Very Upright

“The little girl is really pitiful. Who knows how many days she can survive?”

Wang Guangjun watched the departing Q5 and sighed.

“Surviving the first zombie attack was her luck, and today, encountering us exposing her boyfriend’s ugly face was another stroke of Good Fortune. Who knows how long this luck will follow her.”

Zhong Xiaoshan murmured.

“If she can manage the two things I mentioned, she might survive long enough to adapt to this world… Oh, damn!”

Before Zhang Su finished speaking, Ma Xuechuo on the ground seemed to know Pan Ru had left and suddenly got up like a zombie!

Ugh, Awoo, Awoo.

Ma Xuechuo, with stiff joints and a rigid body, sat up, twisting his neck like a puppet. His blood-red eyes instantly locked onto the fresh flesh nearby, and he even managed to stand up on one leg, excessively resilient.

“It seems, just like in those zombie movies, you can’t let your guard down even after they’re dead. Either burn them or destroy their brains!”

Zhang Su frowned at Ma Xuechuo, then took the crowbar from Old Wang’s hand and stepped forward to finish off Ma Xuechuo.

“Here you go.”

Zhong Xiaoshan approached Zhang Su, who had just finished his task, and handed him something.

“Hmm?”

Zhang Su was slightly surprised as he took the phone handed to him by Zhong Xiaoshan and suddenly realized, “Is this the phone Ma Xuechuo was about to give me?”

Zhong Xiaoshan nodded and said, “Yes, it’s the phone containing the videos of Pan Ru…”

“Wow, she actually forgot about this?”

Zheng Xinyu looked in the direction of the departing Q5, somewhat surprised.

Zhong Xiaoshan gave a faint smile and said, “I secretly picked it up long ago. She wouldn’t be able to find it even if she tried.”

“Hey, little nurse, you have such a meticulous and crafty mind, and are you perhaps a bit of a pervert for being interested in Pan Ru’s videos? Hmm, there’s a password…”

Zhang Su teased Zhong Xiaoshan while fiddling with the phone. The screensaver was a picture of Ma Xuechuo and Pan Ru together. With makeup, Pan Ru looked quite delicate. After trying a couple of simple passwords without success, he gave up.

“No way… Nonsense!”

Zhong Xiaoshan blushed at Zhang Su’s words and quickly moved to the side to check her equipment.

“I thought you might take in Pan Ru.”

Zheng Xinyu whispered sneakily into Zhang Su’s ear.

Zhong Xiaoshan, who had just walked away, immediately perked up her ears upon hearing Zheng Xinyu’s words and subconsciously inched closer to them.

Wang Guangjun, on the other hand, walked naturally towards a farther place, uninterested in the complex love and hate relationships among the young.

“Don’t use your filthy mind to conjecture about me. I’m a very upright person, got it?”

Zhang Su curled his lips disdainfully, tossing the phone casually into his bag.

“Oh, come on…”

Zheng Xinyu rolled her eyes dramatically and continued, “Seeing Pan Ru so pitiful, actually, if she followed us, it wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Wow, such a good heart, huh? Should I drive back to call her then?”

Zhang Su glanced at Zheng Xinyu.

“Oh, there’s no need to call her back. You guys go check the equipment; I’ll go check the store first!”

Zheng Xinyu acted nonchalantly, carrying a baseball bat as she headed towards the bloodstained door of the convenience store.

“Be careful!”

Zhang Su smiled as he reminded her. Although they hadn’t known each other for long, there was a strange sense of familiarity between them, likely due to the circumstances that brought them together so suddenly.

“Hmm?” As Zhang Su turned his head, he saw Old Wang fiddling with a radio and asked, “Any news?”

“I don’t know if the parts are broken, but the signal is terrible!”

Wang Guangjun shook the radio with a bit of frustration.

“Oh, right! There’s a radio in the car. Let’s go and see if there’s any news!”

Zhang Su and Wang Guangjun hurriedly ran to the car to turn on the radio, tuned it for a while, but ended up with nothing at all…

The two of them got out of the car, looking at each other.

“Old Wang, what’s the plan for the journey ahead?”

Leaving the equipment checking to Zhong Xiaoshan, Zhang Su took out two cigarettes, ignoring the dirty no-smoking sign, and handed one to Wang Guangjun.

Wang Guangjun glanced towards the School of Environment, lit the cigarette, squatted, and said wistfully, “Brother Zhang, thank you for getting me out. I plan to gather a few things and head out. How about you let me stay for lunch this afternoon?”

He hadn’t forgotten the original agreement: to part ways after leaving the residential area. From the gas station to the School of Environment wasn’t too far or too close, but who knew what might happen along the way? Better to be prepared, though he was too embarrassed to take too much.

Zhang Su blew out a mouthful of smoke, looked at the heavy sky, then turned to Wang Guangjun. An idea crossed his mind, and he used the [Insight Label].

[Decisive] [Stubborn] [Slow to See Things]

“Old Wang, any thoughts about joining me?”

Zhang Su asked nonchalantly.

He was once angry with Wang Guangjun for blocking the door and not letting him in. But as Qin Ya said, there was no right or wrong; it was just different positions and perspectives. After a couple of days of interacting and with the further understanding from [Insight Label], Zhang Su felt that Wang Guangjun could be a good teammate.

Though being slow to see things might prevent him from becoming elite, his decisive nature was commendably valuable.

Wang Guangjun was momentarily surprised, looking at Zhang Su unexpectedly, not anticipating his invitation.

“Brother Zhang, I really want to go with you…” Wang Guangjun thought it over, sighed, and continued, “But my son is at the school, and I don’t know if he’s dead or alive. No matter what, I have to go check!”

“Have you considered the difficulties along the way? Even if I gave you a car, do you feel confident you’ll make it to the School of Environment?”

Zhang Su spoke without any emotional inflection.

“Brother Zhang, let me put it this way: Alive, I need to see him in person; deceased, I need to see his body. Even if it’s bad news, it would give me closure. How can I rest easy like this? If I don’t make an effort, I will die with regrets.”

As a single father, Wang Guangjun’s son in college was his obsession. Seeing so many tragedies unfold, he was prepared to accept even if his son had died or turned into a zombie, but he couldn’t accept giving up the rescue in an undefined situation!

“Let’s go, check out the convenience store. Take what you need; I won’t be staying here anyway, so anything left behind cannot be carried away!”

Zhang Su patted Wang Guangjun’s shoulder, not pressing further. From the short interaction, he could tell Wang Guangjun was truly a decisive person, stubborn with the will to rescue his son; further persuasion was futile.

Zhong Xiaoshan had finished gathering gear, placing the useful items in the car, and followed Zhang Su into the convenience store.

Since the zombie crisis outbreak, nearly a week had passed. Unexpectedly, the situation inside the convenience store was still okay. The shelves were somewhat disorganized, the floor dust holding chaotic footprints, but there were no evident signs of looting.

“It seems no one has been here. But this store’s inventory is lacking, all flash no substance!”

Walking into the convenience store, Zhang Su glanced around and concluded as much. He used to come here for gas and complained every time.

His own 24-hour convenience store might not be as large, but under unified management from headquarters, the product placement was well-organized, offering a variety of categories.

This convenience store, however, had large displays of dried shiitake mushrooms and black fungus, called local specialties. Behind the counter was an array of white liquor and cigarettes, alongside a whole shelf filled with large Western red dates…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep